Fat Kids

From a press release from the British Medical Journal:

The idea that 'puppy fat' in children disappears as they progress to adolescence is a myth which may put the future health of children at risk... Previous studies have shown that adolescence is a key time, since excess weight during teenage years pre-disposes adults to continued weight problems - with all the associated health risks. But today's study, tracking 5863 children as they developed into young adults, shows that the problems are established before teenage years - since those with excess weight by the age of 11 continued with it during adolescence. ...overall, girls had higher rates of excess weight problems than boys. Black girls had particularly high levels, with an average of 38% being overweight or obese over the study period, compared to 28% for white girls or 20% for Asian girls. For boys, however, ethnicity made little difference to excess weight levels. The findings were less clear cut for economic status. 35% of the most deprived girls were overweight or obese compared with 28% of other girls, but other economic categories showed less consistency. "Children who are obese when they enter secondary school will very likely leave it obese," say the authors. More monitoring is crucial if rising tides of obesity are to be tackled effectively, they conclude.